Methods, systems and computer program products for monitoring service usage

ABSTRACT

Monitoring criteria is received that corresponds to a usage quantity for a plurality of services. Each of the plurality of services is provided over ones of a plurality of different communication systems. Actual service usage information is received for the plurality of services. The actual service usage information and the monitoring criteria are compared. An electronic notification message is sent when the monitoring criteria for one or more of the plurality of services is satisfied.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/928,338, filed Aug. 27, 2004 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,620,162, thedisclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference as it setforth in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to data processing systems, andmore particularly, to data services provided to a user.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is described in greater detail in the followingnon-limiting Examples. Services, such as telecommunications or otherdata services, may be billed on a “pay-per-use” basis. For example, acustomer may be charged a rate per minute for the use of long distancetelephone service or an amount may be charged for a given number ofminutes of use. Video or audio media may be obtained by a customer for afee based on the quantity of the media that is received. Customers aretypically billed periodically for such services, such as with monthlybilling. In order to monitor the usage of a particular service, thecustomer may track the amount of service that he or she uses. If thecustomer does not track the amount of services used or is incorrectabout the amount of services used, the customer may receive a bill forservices that is larger than expected at the end of a billing cycle.

It may be difficult or inconvenient for a customer to accurately trackhow much service is being used. Customers may also receive several typesof services through more than one communications system or serviceprovider. The number of services received by a customer can add to thedifficulty in tracking the monetary charges that the customer can expectat the end of a billing cycle. In addition, several members of ahousehold or business unit may share the same billing account, andtracking usage by several different members of the household or businessmay require coordination between members that is difficult or notpractical.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to embodiments of the present invention, methods, systems, andcomputer program products provide monitoring of the usage of a pluralityof services. In some embodiments, monitoring criteria corresponding to ausage quantity for at least one communication service is received.Service usage information for the service is received. The service usageinformation and the monitoring criteria are compared. An electronicnotification message is sent when the monitoring criteria for one ormore of the plurality of services is satisfied.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, monitoringcriteria is received that corresponds to a usage quantity for aplurality of services. Each of the plurality of services is providedover ones of a plurality of different communication systems. Actualservice usage information is received for the plurality of services. Theactual service usage information and the monitoring criteria arecompared. An electronic notification message is sent when the monitoringcriteria for one or more of the plurality of services is satisfied.

As will further be appreciated by those of skill in the art, althoughdescribed above primarily with reference to method aspects, the presentinvention may be embodied as methods, apparatus/systems and/or computerprogram products. Other systems, methods, and/or computer programproducts according to embodiments will be or become apparent to one withskill in the art upon review of the following drawings and detaileddescription. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods,and/or computer program products be included within this description, bewithin the scope of the present invention, and be protected by theaccompanying claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of systems according to embodiments of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the combined usage monitoring system ofFIG. 1; and

FIGS. 3-4 are flowcharts illustrating operations according toembodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which illustrativeembodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, beembodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limitedto the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments areprovided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and willfully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.Like numerals refer to like elements throughout.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, substantiallyreal-time actual service usage information for a plurality of servicescan be monitored. The service usage information can be compared tomonitoring criteria. The monitoring criteria can be a set of preferencesand/or usage threshold levels. When the monitoring criteria for one ormore of the services is satisfied, a notification message can be sent tothe user. Accordingly, a plurality of services that may be provided overa plurality of different communications systems may be monitored.Notification that the monitoring criteria has been satisfied may beautomatically sent to a user. Users of the provided services may receiveinformation about the amount of services used to reduce the risk ofreceiving unexpected charges for services.

As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the present inventionmay be embodied as methods, systems and/or computer program products.Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirelyhardware embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardwareaspects all generally referred to herein as a “circuit” or “module.”Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of a computerprogram product on a computer-usable storage medium havingcomputer-usable program code embodied in the medium. Any suitablecomputer readable medium may be utilized including hard disks, CD-ROMs,optical storage devices or magnetic storage devices.

The present invention is described below with reference to flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, systems and computerprogram products according to embodiments of the invention. It will beunderstood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or blockdiagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrationsand/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer programinstructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that theinstructions which execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

FIG. 1 illustrates systems according to various embodiments of thepresent invention. As illustrated, a data information system 100includes a plurality of communication systems, such as a packet switchednetwork 110, a wireless communications network 120 and a public switchedtelephone network (PSTN) 130. The packet switched network 110, thewireless communications network 120 and the public switched telephonenetwork 130 communicate with one or more user devices 104 a-104 c toprovide various communications services. The packet switched network110, the wireless communications network 120 and the public switchedtelephone network 130 also communicate with a packet switched usagemonitoring system 112, a wireless network usage monitoring system 122,and a PSTN usage monitoring system 132, respectively. A combined usagemonitoring system 150 is in communication with the monitoring systems112, 122, and 132 and one or more of the user devices 104 a-104 c.

Accordingly, information about substantially real-time actual serviceuse by one or more of the user devices 104 a-104 c can be monitored bythe monitoring systems 112, 122, and 132 and received by the combinedusage monitoring system 150. It should be understood that “real-time”actual service use includes information that is substantially or nearreal-time. The combined usage monitoring system 150 can includemonitoring criteria, such as usage threshold amounts. The users of theuser devices 104 a-104 c may be notified by the combined usagemonitoring system 150 when one or more of the monitoring criteria issatisfied.

Although the data information system 100 in FIG. 1 is illustrated withrespect to the packet switched network 110, the wireless communicationsnetwork 120, and the PSTN 130, any one or more different communicationssystems may be used. Additional communication networks may also beprovided. It should be understood that a single user device 104 a may beused, or any number of user devices 104 a-104 c may be used. The userdevices 104 a-104 c can communicate with one or more of the networks110, 120, and 130, the combined usage monitoring system 150, and/orother ones of the devices 104 a-104 c directly or indirectly via otherdevices, systems, or networks. Any suitable user device may be used forthe user devices 104 a-104 c, including mobile communications devices,desktop computers, landline telephones, modem-enabled devices, set topboxes, cable-enabled television sets, or other devices that can access acommunications system. Mobile communications devices can includeradiotelephones or other handheld devices, such as a personal wirelesslyenabled digital assistants (personal data assistants (PDAs), such asPalm Pilot™ or a Pocket PC™), cellular telephones and/or data terminals,pagers, wireless messaging devices (such as a Blackberry™ wirelesshandheld device), laptop computers, wireless enabled laptop computers,other mobile communications devices and/or combinations thereof.

Usage monitoring systems, such as the packet switched usage monitoringsystem 112, the wireless network usage monitoring system 122, and thePSTN usage monitoring system 132, can be configured to monitor usage ofone or more services provided over one or more of the networks 110, 120,and 130, respectively, to the user devices 104 a-104 c. The servicesprovided to the user devices 104 a-104 c can include data services, suchas network access services or media services that are accessible via anetwork. The services can include downloadable or streamlined electronicaudio media, electronic video media, computer network services (e.g.,Internet access or email), wireless computer network services, telephoneservices via a wireless network, video conferencing services, and/ortelephone services via a PSTN. The usage monitoring systems 112, 122,and 132 can monitor one or more types of services provided via thecorresponding networks 110, 120, and 130.

Although the networks 110, 120, and 130 are illustrated in FIG. 1 aseach having a corresponding usage monitoring system 112, 122, and 132associated therewith, it should be understood that more than one usagemonitoring system may be associate with a single network. For example,the packet switched usage monitoring system 112 can monitor the usage asan amount of access to the packet switched network 110 (e.g., the amountof time that a user is logged onto the Internet), and another usagemonitoring system can monitor how much of a different service is usedduring the access period, such as how many audio or video files (e.g.,MP3 or JPEG files) are downloaded. Moreover, although the usagemonitoring systems 112, 122, and 132 arc illustrated as part of the datainformation system 100, the usage monitoring systems 112, 122, and 132can be carried out at least in part by one or more of the user devices104 a-104 c.

A single user can access several different communication services,including data services, from one or more of the devices 104 a-104 c.Various services can be received at the same time. For example, a usercan receive Internet access services at the device 104 a and the usercan download audio files via the device 104 a using a different servicewhile the device 104 a is connected to the Internet. More than one ofthe devices 104 a-104 c can be used at the same time. For example, auser could use one of the devices 104 a-104 c (e.g., a computer) toaccess the packet switched network 110, such as to view a webpage, atthe same time as the user uses another one of the devices 104 a-104 c(e.g., a cellular telephone) to access the wireless communicationsnetwork 120, such as to conduct a telephone call.

More than one user can be associated with the same billing account andthe services used by each of the users can be monitored. The cumulativeservices used by all of the users can be monitored and/or the serviceusage can be monitored for each of the users separately. The devices 104a-104 c may each be associated with a single user or the users may usethe devices 104 a-104 c interchangeably, for example, using a useridentifier or account to identify which one of the users is usingservices. For example, one user could be receiving downloadable audiofiles over the packet switched network 110 from one of the devices 104a-104 c while another user could be sending electronic pictures over thewireless communications network 120 from another one of the devices 104a-104 c.

Communication services may be provided to one or more of the userdevices 104 a-104 c by one or more service providers. For example, aservice provider may provide the user device 104 a access to the packetswitched network 110. The service provider may, for example, provideInternet service via a digital subscriber line (DSL) or a cable modem.The amount of time that the user device 104 a accesses the packetswitched network 110 may be monitored by the packet switched usagemonitoring system 112 as a measurement of service use. The user device104 a can obtain other services from the same or a different serviceprovider during its access to the packet switched network 110. Forexample, the user device 104 a can access audio or video media (e.g.,MP3 and JPEG files) from a particular website provided by anotherservice provider that provides this service over the packet switchednetwork 110. Another service provider may provide access to the packetswitched network 110. As described above, the usage of services via thepacket switched network 110 can be monitored by the packet switchedusage monitoring system 112 or by other usage monitoring systems.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the combined usage monitoring system 150 canbe a data processing system that includes a memory module 160, acontroller module 170, and I/O data ports 180. The controller module 170may be an operating system suitable for use with a data processingsystem, such as Windows95, Windows98, Windows2000, Windows NT, WindowsME, Windows XP from Microsoft Corporation, Cisco IOS, VxWorks, Unix,Linux, OS/2, AIX or System390 from International Business MachinesCorporation, Armonk, N.Y. Although the controller module 170 is shown asseparate from the memory module 160, it is to be understood that it maybe at least partially within the memory module 160. The I/O data ports180 can be used to transfer information between the combined usagemonitoring system 150 the other usage monitoring systems 112, 122, and132 and another computer system, a network, and/or a peripheral devicesuch as a printer. These components may be conventional components suchas those used in many conventional data processing systems and may beconfigured to operate as described herein.

The memory module 160 can include various modules for carrying outoperations according to the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 2,the memory module 160 includes a communicator module 162, amonitor/decider module 164, a database module 166, and a notificationmodule 168. The communicator module 162 can provide a user interface forreceiving the monitoring criteria from an administrator or from a user.The monitor/decider module 164 can monitor the service usage. Thenotification module 168 can create and/or send a message, for example,via the communicator module 162 to the user when the monitoring criteriais satisfied. In some embodiments, the notification module 168 can sendthe notification when the user initiates a service, for example, beforecharges for services are incurred by the user. The database module 166can store information, such as the monitoring criteria, set(s) of rulesto be taken if monitoring criteria are met, and/or actual service usageinformation, e.g., as received from the usage monitoring systems 112,122, and 124.

Although the combined usage monitoring system 150 is illustrated inFIGS. 1 and 2 as being separate from the networks 110, 120 and 130 andthe billing systems 112, 122, and 132, operations performed by thecombined usage monitoring system 150 can be performed at least in partby other modules in the networks 110, 120, and 130, such as by one ofthe usage monitoring systems 112, 122, and 132.

Operations according to some embodiments of the present invention areillustrated with respect to FIGS. 3 and 4. Although such operations aredescribed with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2, it should be understood thatany suitable device and/or system may be used to carry out theoperations described herein.

With reference to FIGS. 1-3, the combined usage monitoring system 150can receive monitoring criteria corresponding to a usage quantity for aplurality of services (Block 200). For example, the user can sendmonitoring criteria to the usage monitoring system 150, such as from theuser device 104 a. The communicator module 162 of the monitoring system150 can provide a user interface, such as a web page, through which theuser can input the monitoring criteria. Each of the services can beprovided over one of a plurality of different communication systems,such as various services received by the user device 104 a through twoor more of the packet switched network 110, the wireless communicationsnetwork 120 and/or the public switched telephone network 130.

The combined usage monitoring system 150 can receive substantiallyreal-time actual service usage information from a plurality of usagemonitoring systems (Block 210). For example, the monitor/decider module164 and/or the database module 166 can receive substantially real-timeusage information from the packet switched usage monitoring system 112,the wireless network usage monitoring system 122, and/or the PSTN usagemonitoring system 132. The monitor/decider module 164 can compare thereal-time actual service usage information and the monitoring criteriato determine if the real-time service usage information satisfies themonitoring criteria (Block 220). The notification module 168 of thecombined usage monitoring system 150 can send a notification messagewhen the monitoring criteria for one or more of the plurality ofservices is satisfied (Block 230). The notification message can be sentto one of the user devices 104 a-104 c, for example, by an emailmessage, a text message (such as on a handheld wireless communicationsdevice or computer terminal, including “pop-up” windows), an audioindication within an ongoing telephone call, and/or a page to a pagerdevice. The notification may be sent automatically without requiring anaction by the user. Audio and/or visual notification messages may beused. In some embodiments, the notification message includes actualusage information for one or more of the services, and may indicateremaining balance(s) associated with an account. Multiple notificationmessages may also be sent. In some embodiments, a notification messagemay also be sent to a monitoring system or to a provider of a monitoredservice. Different notification messages may contain differentinformation, and may be used for different purposes.

Any suitable monitoring criteria can be used. The monitoring criteriacan be a threshold for an amount of service or service charge, such as anumber of per-use invocations (e.g., number of media files downloaded),a maximum monthly charge, a number of minutes of use, or an amount ofdata (e.g., bytes) transferred. In some embodiments, multiple thresholdlevels may be set; for example, a warning notification message can besent at a lower threshold and service may be stopped at a higherthreshold. The monitoring criteria may be defined as a value relative toanother value, such as the previous usage of the customer during aselected billing period or averaged over a set of billing periods. Asanother example, the monitoring criteria for service used by one memberof a household or business entity sharing an account can be a thresholdamount set relative to the usage of another member. The monitoringcriteria can also be based on a minimum or maximum rate or speed atwhich the services are used. The monitoring criteria can also take intoaccount the amount of service being used during a particular periodduring a billing cycle. For example, the monitoring criteria can be athreshold that depends on the amount of time that has passed during thebilling cycle. Thus, the monitoring criteria can be an absolute amountof service used or an amount that, for example, increases throughout thebilling cycle. As a specific example, the monitoring criteria can be athreshold of a predetermined number of units of service accumulatedand/or a predetermined number of units of service per day or week of thebilling cycle. The monitoring criteria can include combined criteria formore than one type of service or threshold. The amount of servicesaccumulated may be reset for each billing cycle. The monitoring criteriacan be based on any definable mathematical formula which incorporatesone or more of the above example types, in any useful combination.

In some embodiments, the monitoring criteria can be based on past usagepatterns. The monitoring criteria can be divided by the billing periodor sub-periods within the billing period. Each period or sub-period canbe categorized and/or the service use during the period or sub-period.The periods and/or sub-periods can have different monitoring criteria.For example, if a user typically uses more services in the first week ofthe billing cycle and very few minutes in the last week of the billingcycle, then the monitoring criteria can correspond to the expectedusage. Warning messages can be provided to give users notification whenthey are using services more rapidly, for example, based on the actualrate of service use.

The monitoring criteria can be an amount of usage for one or more of theusers in a user group, such as a household or business unit that sharesa billing account. In some embodiments, the monitoring criteria can bean amount of usage associated with one or more of the devices 104 a-104c. The devices 104 a-104 c can be associated with particular users inthe user group, for example, by being pre-configured to be so associatedwith a user or via other associations such as user identifiers andaccounts. One or more of the users in the user group can be designatedas an “administrative user.” When services are used at one of the userdevices 104 a-104 c, the user device 104 a-104 c can send an identifierto the appropriate usage monitoring device 112, 122, and 132, and theservice usage can be associated with a particular one of the userdevices 104 a-104 c and/or a user that is assigned to the device. Insome embodiments, the user can enter a user identifier so that the usagemonitoring devices 112, 122, and 132 can assign the usage to aparticular user. Thus, one user in a user group can use one or more ofthe user devices 104 a-104 c, for instance by logging into their useraccount by entering their user identifier and/or password, or byauthenticating themselves via other methods well-known in the art.

The combined usage monitoring system 150 can be programmed to acceptchanges to the monitoring criteria and/or to override an actiontriggered by the satisfaction of one of the monitoring criteria based oninstructions from an authorized user, such as an administrative user ina user group. The administrative user can use a password or useridentification, or other acceptable authentication method, to notify thecombined usage monitoring system 150 that the instructions areauthorized for acceptance.

The notification message can include information about the real-timeactual service usage and/or the monitoring criteria. The substantiallyreal-time actual service usage information can include information abouta single user, a sum of the usage of a group of users, such as a groupof users sharing the same account, or a sub-group of those users, or theindividual usage amounts for a group of users. The actual usageinformation can include amounts for ones of the plurality of services ora sum of the usage corresponding to one or more of the services. Thenotification message can include a command or request for subsequentdenial of service and/or notification of service stoppage.

The notification message can include information about actions that maybe taken based on the satisfaction of the monitoring criteria. Forexample, the notification message can inform the user that one or moreof the services may be discontinued or temporarily discontinued for aperiod of time. In some embodiments, a notification may be a request fora particular service provider to deny subsequent service usage withrespect to a user group, sub-group, or individual user.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the monitoring criteria isreceived, for example, by the combined usage monitoring system 150(Block 300). The monitoring criteria can include an instruction to stopservices if the user uses more than a predetermined amount of service.If, for example, the monitor decider module 164, determines that thereal-time service usage information satisfies the monitoring criteria,e.g., by surpassing an amount of service use (Block 310), then thenotification module 168 sends a message to the user notifying the userthat service will be stopped (Block 320).

In some embodiments, the user (or one or more of the users in a usergroup) may have the authority to override a service stoppage. If thecommunicator module 162 receives authorization to continue services,then the service is not discontinued (Block 330). If authorization isnot received, then one or more of the services are discontinued (Block340). The services may be permanently discontinued, or services mayresume after a period of time or at the beginning of the next billingcycle. The services may be stopped by automatically disabling a serviceaccount, or by transmitting a message or command to a service providerto stop providing services to the user.

Although the notification message is described herein as includinginformation about actual service usage or service stoppages, otherinformation may be included in the notification message. For example,advertisements or promotions for service billing plans may beautomatically sent to selected users, such as users who exceed athreshold of service use or users who use below a threshold of serviceuse. Users may also receive advertisements or promotions for additionalservices in the notification message. More than one notification messagemay be sent.

Other actions may also be taken if the actual service usage satisfiesthe monitoring criteria. For example, when the actual service usagereaches a threshold amount, the user may be temporarily or indefinitelymoved to a new billing plan. Some service providers may provide servicesbased on the amount of service used, e.g., a rate for some predeterminedamount of service and a higher or lower amount for service exceeding thepredetermined amount. Thus, users may be charged different amounts basedon a particular service billing plan. The user may be automaticallymoved to a new billing plan or the user may receive informationregarding billing plan options that may be more economical based on theuser's actual service.

In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed certainembodiments of the invention and although specific terms are employed,they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not forpurposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth inthe following claims.

1. A method for monitoring the usage of a plurality of services, themethod comprising: receiving monitoring criteria corresponding to ausage quantity for a plurality of services, each of the plurality ofservices being provided over ones of a plurality of differentcommunication systems; receiving from a communications device actualservice usage information for the plurality of services from acommunications device wherein the monitoring criteria is received by ausage monitoring system; comparing the service usage information and themonitoring criteria; and sending an electronic notification message whenthe monitoring criteria for one or more of the plurality of services issatisfied, wherein the notification message includes a promotionalmessage comprising information about payment plans for the plurality ofservices when the monitoring criteria is satisfied and the informationabout payment plans is based on the service usage information whereinthe electronic notification is sent by the usage monitoring system to auser device when the user initiates a service and before additionalcharges for services are incurred.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein theelectronic notification message comprises at least one of an emailmessage, a text message, and a page to a paging device.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the service usage information is substantiallyreal-time actual service usage information.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the plurality of communication systems comprises two or more ofa packet switched network, a wireless telecommunications network, and apublic switched telephone network.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein themonitoring criteria corresponds to a predetermined billing cycle, andthe real-time actual service usage information corresponds to serviceusage during the predetermined billing cycle.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the monitoring criteria is an amount of service usage for one ormore of a plurality of users, the plurality of users comprising a usergroup.
 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising designating at leastone of the plurality of users in the user group as an administrativeuser and accepting a change to the monitoring criteria if the change isreceived from the administrative user of the user group wherein thepromotional message is sent to the administrative user.
 8. The method ofclaim 6, wherein the notification message includes the real-time actualservice usage information for at least one of the plurality of users inthe user group.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the notificationmessage includes the real-time actual service usage information for atleast one of the plurality of services.
 10. The method of claim 1,wherein the notification message includes information concerning astoppage of services based on a satisfied monitoring criteria.
 11. Themethod of claim 10, further comprising sending a request to a serviceprovider to stop providing services based on the satisfied monitoringcriteria.
 12. The method of claim 10, further comprising automaticallydiscontinuing one or more of the plurality of services based on thesatisfied monitoring criteria.
 13. The method of claim 10, furthercomprising receiving a request from a user to continue services andcontinuing service based on the user request.
 14. The method of claim 1,wherein the substantially real-time actual service usage information isreceived from a plurality of billing systems.
 15. The method of claim 1,wherein a cost for the plurality of services is determined based on apredetermined one of a plurality of payment plans, the method comprisingautomatically selecting another one of the plurality of payment plansfor a user when one or more of the monitoring criteria is satisfied. 16.A combined usage monitoring system for monitoring the usage of aplurality of services, the system comprising: a communication moduleconfigured to receive monitoring criteria corresponding to a usagequantity for a plurality of services, each of the plurality of servicesbeing provided over ones of a plurality of different communicationsystems; a monitor module configured to receive actual service usageinformation from a communications device for the plurality of servicesfrom a communications device wherein the monitoring criteria is receivedby a usage monitoring system and to compare the service usageinformation and the monitoring criteria; and a notification moduleconfigured to send an electronic notification message when themonitoring criteria for one or more of the plurality of services issatisfied, wherein the notification message includes a promotionalmessage comprising information about payment plans for the plurality ofservices when the monitoring criteria is satisfied and the informationabout payment plans is based on the service usage information whereinthe electronic notification is sent by the usage monitoring system to auser device when the user initiates a service and before additionalcharges for services are incurred.
 17. The system of claim 16, whereinthe electronic notification message comprises at least one of an emailmessage, a text message, and a page to a paging device.
 18. A computerprogram product for monitoring the usage of a plurality of services, thecomputer program product comprising program code embodied in anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the computer programcode comprising: computer program code that is configured to receivemonitoring criteria corresponding to a usage quantity for a plurality ofservices, each of the plurality of services being provided over ones ofa plurality of different communication systems; computer program codethat is configured to receive actual service usage information for theplurality of services; computer program code that is configured tocompare the service usage information and the monitoring criteria; andcomputer program code that is configured to send an electronicnotification message when the monitoring criteria for one or more of theplurality of services is satisfied, wherein the notification messageincludes a promotional message comprising information about paymentplans for the plurality of services when the monitoring criteria issatisfied and the information about payment plans is based on theservice usage information wherein the electronic notification is sentwhen the user initiates a service and before additional charges forservices are incurred.